Scott Adkins brings his dream project to life in this exciting adaptation of a British comic book from the director of Savage Dog.
Mike Fallon is an assassin. He specializes in making his hits look like fatal accidents. After performing a job, he goes to a local pub to let the tension out by beating up locals then goes to the Oasis, a pub where he meets with fellow assassins. Together, they work for Big Ray, who works with Milton, a shady handler from New York. When Mike is given a new job to take out an accountant, he learns of a possible set up after he is sent to pick up the money.
However, Mike has learned that his ex-girlfriend Beth has died. At the funeral, he is confronted by Charlie, Beth’s girlfriend who reveals that at the time of her death, she was pregnant with Mike’s baby. Mike soon learns that the job may have been committed by one of his fellow assassins. As Mike wages war while looking for answers, he learns that Beth’s death has resulted from something major and while he has broken protocol amongst his fellow assassins, he is ready to avenge Beth’s death at all costs.
If you don’t know by now, Scott Adkins loves keeping busy by doing what he loves most: making movies and kicking serious tail. The first of an astonishing six films set for release this year alone, Adkins has made it clear that this film is a dream project. Based on Pat Mills and Tony Skinner, Adkins co-wrote the film with Stu Small and it seems like the central role of Mike Fallon is truly a natural role for the British martial arts ace.
As Fallon, Adkins provides both the narration and gets to showcase both his action and acting skills as the titular character. Many may see this as perhaps a martial arts John Wick, but that’s far from the case as the original comic was created in the 1990’s. Adkins is great here as someone who loves his job and goes as far as after performing a hit, goes to a pub just for kicks to start a fight. However, he can’t stop thinking about the woman he loved, the only one he ever loved, and how they were great until he let his ego get the best of him, forcing her into the arms of another woman, played by Twilight Saga’s Ashley Greene, who doesn’t bring much to the table and has limited screen time but serves as a catalyst for Mike’s mission of revenge.
The introduction of the other assassins in the film comes right off of a comic book. Oh right, this film is based on one. While some of the supporting characters are lesser known, they still tend to make an impact. For example, Carnage Cliff, played by Ross O’Hennessy, is an axe murderer who’s not the brightest star in the galaxy with Stephen Donald’s Poison Pete, living up to his name, doesn’t really talk much but growls a lot. Perry Benson’s Finicky Fred provides the much needed comic relief of the film as he comes up with inventive ways to do the deed and with that comes a reference to our hero in terms of the latest “invention”.
However, the big threats come in the form of Ray Park, Michael Jai White, and Amy Johnston. Park, best known to Star Wars fans as Darth Maul, and White play ex-military mercenaries who when they are not kicking butt or killing, bicker about which Special Forces unit reigns supreme. In other words, they are the “married” couple of the assassins with Johnston’s Jane the Ripper being a true femme fatale, even seen in her flashback when she began training in kenjutsu under a cameo-appearing Roger Yuan.
What is very interesting about the film is that the entire second act is actually a flashback sequence of how Mike becomes an assassin. While it may seem unorthodox to have this set in the middle of the film and running a good 15-20 minutes of the film nonetheless, it serves as a cool down, an intermission if you will before things go full speed ahead and that’s when the fun really begins. Ray Stevenson, as Big Ray, turns it up as Mike’s mentor and boss, who finds himself in a situation he never imagined with David Paymer as the foil who for one reason or another, tends to rile Mike up knowing he can’t do much about it because there are three rules at the Oasis: no spitting, no killing, and no beating up Milton, Paymer’s character.
Tim Man, Adkins’ go to guy as of late for fight choreography, once again delivers some intense martial arts action sequences. Adkins gets to throw down first against some throwaway goons at a local pub and then takes on Man himself, who makes a cameo appearance as a biker for the Triads. However, it is when Adkins takes on Park, White, and Johnston that stand out. The two-on-one fight between Adkins and the blue gi-sporting Park and White is quite fun to watch. And it is safe to say despite taking the lead in both Lady Bloodfight and Female Fight Club, Johnston gets to really show what she is capable of in a feature film as this showcases some of her best work in the action department yet.
Accident Man is definitely a wild ride and great action film that may make one wonder why there would be a lengthy flashback sequence in the middle of the film. Just think of that as an intermission to the really fun stuff! One of Scott Adkins’ best films yet.
WFG RATING: A-
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents a LINK Entertainment production in association with Six Demon Films. Director: Jesse V. Johnson. Producers: Craig Baumgarten, Scott Adkins, Ben Jacques, and Erik Kritzer. Writers: Stu Small and Scott Adkins; based on the Toxic! Comic by Pat Mills and Tony Skinner. Cinematography: Duane McClunie. Editing: Matthew Lorentz.
Cast: Scott Adkins, Ray Stevenson, David Paymer, Ashley Greene, Ray Park, Michael Jai White, Amy Johnston, Perry Benson, Nick Moran, Ross O’Hennessey, Stephen Donald, Tim Man, Brooke Johnston.
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